Lebanon

For other uses, see Lebanon (disambiguation).

Lebanon is a country in the Middle East, in Western Asia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. It has borders with Israel to the south and Syria to the east and north. It also shares a maritime border with Cyprus to the northwest, away from the country's short distance.

Republic of Lebanon ٱلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱللُّبْنَانِيَّةُ (Arabic) al-Jumhūriyya al-Lubnāniyya République libanaise (French)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: كلّنا للوطن  (Arabic) Koullouna lilouataan lil oula lil alam English: All of us! For our Country!
Location of Lebanon (in green)
Capital and largest city	Beirut 33°54′N 35°32′E
Official languages	Arabic[nb 1]
Recognised languages	French English
Local vernacular	Lebanese Arabic
Ethnic groups	95% Arab[nb 2] 4% Armenian 1% Other
Religion (Estimated[nb 3])	Islam ~28.7% Sunni[1] ~28.4% Shi'a ~0.6% Other (Alawite & Ismaili) Christianity ~22% Maronite Catholic[2] ~8% Greek Orthodox[3] ~5% Melkite Catholic[4] ~4% Armenian (Apostolic & Catholic) ~1% Minorities[5] (Jacobite, Syriac Catholic, ACOE, Chaldean, Latin Catholic, and Coptic) ~1% Evangelical[6] Druzism ~5.2% Druze[nb 4]
Demonym(s)	Lebanese
Government	Unitary confessionalist parliamentary republic[7]
• President	Joseph Aoun
• Prime Minister	Najib Mikati
• Speaker of the Parliament	Nabih Berri
Legislature	Parliament
Establishment
• Greater Lebanon	1 September 1920
• Constitution	23 May 1926
• Independence declared	22 November 1943
• French mandate ended	24 October 1945
• Withdrawal of French forces	17 April 1946
• Israeli troops withdrawn	24 May 2000
• Syrian troops withdrawn	30 April 2005
Area
• Total	10,452 km2 (4,036 sq mi) (161st)
• Water (%)	1.8
Population
• 2021 estimate	5,592,631[8][9] (109th)
• Density	560/km2 (1,450.4/sq mi) (21st)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$91 billion[10]
• Per capita	$11,562[10] (66th)
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$18 billion[10] (82nd)
• Per capita	$2,745[10]
Gini (2011)	31.8[11] medium
HDI (2019)	0.744[12] high · 92nd
Currency	Lebanese pound (LBP)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Driving side	right[13]
Calling code	+961[14]
ISO 3166 code	LB
Internet TLD	.lb

History & Data

Lebanon was named Phoenicia under the Roman Empire. Some of the biggest temples in Antiquity were there at Heliopolis. In the 7th century Arabs conquered Phoenicia and imposed their religion Islam. But many areas in the mountains remained Christian as the "Maronites". However, the Christians who remained in the mountains became Arabized and started identifying themselves as "Arab Christians".

Lebanon has been independent since 22 November 1943. Its capital city is Beirut.

Lebanon has two chains of mountains. It has a long coastline. The area of Lebanon is 10,452 square kilometers (4,036 square miles).

The Cedar tree is the national symbol of Lebanon because many of them grow in the Lebanon Mountains.

Population of Lebanon

Around 5.2 million people live in Lebanon.^[15]

Around 14 million Lebanese people live outside Lebanon. ^[16]

The people of Lebanon

About 68% of Lebanese people are Muslim and 32% are Christian.^[15]

The official language of Lebanon is Arabic and it is the most common language.^[17] French, English, and Armenian are also common languages.

Governorates and districts

Lebanon is divided into six governorates. These are divided into 25 districts.^[18] The districts are also divided into several municipalities. The governorates and their districts are listed below:

• Beirut Governorate
  • The Beirut Governorate is not divided into districts and is limited to the city of Beirut
• Nabatieh Governorate (Jabal Amel)
  • Bint Jbeil
  • Hasbaya
  • Marjeyoun
  • Nabatieh
• Beqaa Governorate
  • Baalbek
  • Hermel
  • Rashaya
  • Western Beqaa (al-Beqaa al-Gharbi)
  • Zahle
• North Governorate (al-Shamal)
  • Akkar
  • Batroun
  • Bsharri
  • Koura
  • Miniyeh-Danniyeh
  • Tripoli
  • Zgharta
• Mount Lebanon Governorate (Jabal Lubnan)
  • Aley
  • Baabda
  • Byblos (Jbeil)
  • Chouf
  • Keserwan
  • Matn
• South Governorate (al-Janoub)
  • Jezzine
  • Sidon (Saida)
  • Tyre (Sur)

The historic site of Baalbek (ancient Heliopolis) in Lebanon

Related pages

• Lebanese Civil War
• 2020 Beirut explosion
• List of rivers of Lebanon
• Lebanon at the Olympics
• Lebanon national football team
• Heliopolis (Roman Phoenicia)

Notes

1. Article 11 of the Constitution of Lebanon states: "Arabic is the official national language. A law shall determine the cases in which the French language can be used." See: French language in Lebanon
2. Note: Many Lebanese Christians do not identify as "Arab" but rather as descendants of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called "Phoenician".
3. Because the relative sizes of different religions and religious sects remains a sensitive issue, a national census has not been conducted since 1932. There are 18 state-recognized religious sects – four Muslim, 12 Christian, one Druze, and one Jewish
4. Note: Most Druze do not identify as Muslim, but Druze are classified by the Lebanese government as one of the five Muslim communities in Lebanon (Sunni, Shia, Druze, Alawi, and Ismaili).